A Boy's Best Friend
by alexsonnn
Summary: With his new dog Riley Alex finds himself getting into even more trouble than usual with this rebellious lovable K-9. Basically random one-shots of moments with Riley, Jack, Alex, and Tom.
1. Chapter 1

Alex aimlessly walked through the streets of London in an effort to escape his mind. He just got back from an unforgettable mission and it was undoubtedly taking it's toll on him. He was quieter that usual and Jack was getting worried. And so worrisome that it was making Alex uncomfortable, so he decided to take a walk.

As he reached an empty alley he kicked an old Coke can that was in front of his feet, it rolled up into a cardboard box and stopped, then amazingly it rolled back out as if by itself. Curiously Alex approached the box and a black wet nose peaked out. As Alex looked closer he saw that a very dirty and ratty yellow Labrador was scrunched up, shivering a bit from the cold. He looked famished. But his big brown eyes held hope and trust as he looked deep into Alex's hopeless and trust-less ones.

"You stink," Alex commented as he warily reached out to pet the dog, knowing that a stray could sometimes be violent. But the dog just licked his hand as it became in reach.

The teen then pulled out the rest of his cereal bar he had been munching on earlier and held it out for the dog. The dog immediately wolfed the whole thing down, barely chewing it.

"There you go," Alex said as he stood up to leave.

He went to leave but he was stopped by a small whimper and a scraping noise. Looking back he could see that the the Lab was looking after him hopefully as he wagged his tail.

"What?" He asked.

Then suddenly he felt that he couldn't move, this dog's eyes suddenly had a hold on him. The poor dog needed him, and once again he knew he couldn't help but help.

"Well, come on then," He replied, patting the side of his leg. The dog immediately stood up and immediately walked to the spy's side and they set off for the Rider household.

* * *

They soon reached Alex's house and headed straight for the bathroom.

"You have to get a bath first or Jack will kill me," Alex said to the dog. Jack was going out to lunch with a couple of friends, and had urged Alex to tag along but he refused.

He ran some warm water and much to the teen's surprise the dog hopped straight into the big bathtub.

"Ookay," Alex said, as he bent down and began to scrub the dog with shampoo, "this is human shampoo. It should be safe to use on you once. Just until I can get you some dog shampoo."

The yellow lab looked up and licked Alex full on the face. Alex smiled slightly as he scrunched up his face, "And some breathe mints." he commented.

After nearly an hour of scraping and scrubbing the Lab was finally nice and clean. And once he was dried off Alex began to show the dog around the house. They stopped in the kitchen and Alex prepared some leftovers for the dog. He greedily wolfed it down and drank a whole bunch of water. Then Alex let him out in the fenced in backyard. Alex started to bounce a tennis ball around as the dog sniffed out his surroundings. Then when Alex least expected it a _whoosh_ of yellow came out of nowhere and snatched the ball away from Alex. The dog leaned his front body down, butt in the air, wagging his long tail as he looked at Alex with a glint in his eyes.

Alex laughed quietly, "Alright, if that's the way you want it."

And he began to chase the dog, soon Alex was laughing openly as he tried to catch the hyper dog. Alex was having such a good time that he was not aware of the red haired woman who had appeared on the patio, watching Alex in awe.

Jack thought that Alex would never get out of the rut he had fallen into. And now here he was running around and playing with a dog, _laughing._ Something Jack was beginning to think she'd never hear again.

"Hey, Alex! You want to give me a hand with these groceries I stopped to pick up? Then maybe you could introduce me to the new member of our weird little family," Jack suggested.

Alex spun around and looked at Jack.

"Oh, Jack...I uh...I'm sorry I didn't talk with you about it first..." Alex said, hoping Jack wasn't going to freak out and make him get rid of....he really did need to think of a name for the dog.

"Oh please, Alex. You know me better than that. If it takes a dog to make you happy I'm all for it. And besides I love dogs! I used to have two Great Danes when I was growing up,"Jack said petting the dog as it bounded over to her.

"So he can stay?" He asked.

"Yes, as long as you train him, housebreak him, and what not," Jack replied, opening the door for the trio to go into, "And he'll need shots. And I guess this means another trip to the store. He'll need a leash, collar, food, toys." She said naming off a few things.

"You got it," Alex said as he began to put away the groceries.

"You thought of a name yet?" Jack said as she began to do the same.

"No. Any ideas? I've never been good with these sorts of things," Alex admitted.

"Well, look at him. What does he look like to you," Jack said thoughtfully.

Alex looked at the dog, "I don't know. How about Riley? I like that name."

Jack smiled lovingly at the dog, "That's a great name, Alex. What do you say? Do you like the name Riley, boy?"

The dog looked at Jack and barked excitedly.

Alex smiled, "Riley, it is then."

* * *

Jack sat with Riley while Alex went to the store and bought all the dog necessities that they would be needing.

Riley was really upset when Alex left, but as soon as Alex came back his tail was wagging frantically and begged for Alex's attention. Alex immediately went dropped down down to the floor and began to rub the dog's belly as he fell over.

And soon the dog was well fed, and fitted with a brand new royal blue collar, with a leash to match. Both dog and boy became tired from their eventful day. Alex showered and changed into his pajamas, and gave a quick goodnight to Jack before him and Riley headed to bed.

Jack peered into Alex's room before she headed to bed herself and smiled at the sight she saw; Riley was curled up on Alex's side, they both were snuggled up to each other. Alex had an arm draped over the dog, while Riley rested his head on the boy's shoulder.

"Goodnight boys," She whispered and then turned to go to bed herself.

**A/N- As a complete dog lover I couldn't help myself. I think Alex getting a dog would brighten his mood considerably. **

** And yes Riley is the name of my dog, and he **

** This was supposed to only be a one-shot but I might be persuaded to continue it as a series of one-shot's of funny little moments of Alex and his new dog, if that's what people would like to see.**

** But I need people to tell me whether they liked it and to go on with it to do that:)**


	2. Chapter 2

Nearly three week into Riley's stay, the dog was proving to Alex to be a big handful. They took Riley to the Vet and the Doctor informed them that Riley was just barely out of his puppy-hood, and fully grown, so they would have a long happy life with their new dog.

Riley Rider was one great big ball of energy.

The dog was also very clingy to Alex, wherever the boy went Riley was right under his feet, which Alex didn't seem to mind too much, he liked having someone around him.

This morning though, when Alex woke up, Riley was nowhere to be seen in his room. Riley usually woke Alex up with a big sloppy kiss.

Alex shrugged and walked half awake towards the kitchen where Jack could be heard singing out loud to herself.

As he entered the kitchen he rubbed sleep out of his eye.

"Hey, Jack, have you seen-" But that was all Alex got out of his mouth before he was tackled to the ground by eighty-five pounds of Lab came barreling at him. Jack spun around at the noise and began laughing hysterically at the sight she saw; Alex was laughing as Riley flopped down on top of Alex and began licking his face sloppily.

"Good morning to you too, Riley," Alex said, struggling to get up.

"Alright you two, get up. Alex, breakfast is on the table," Jack said still laughing.

"Thanks, Jack," Alex said taking a big bite out of a piece of toast and secretly handing the rest to Riley.

"What are you planning on doing today?" Jack asked.

"I don't know, maybe take Riley to the park with Tom," Alex replied.

"Sounds good, I'm going out to lunch with Shannon today. So if you need me call me on my cell," Jack explained.

Alex nodded and went upstairs to get dressed, with Riley hot at his heels.

When he came back downstairs Jack had already left and he could see Tom coming up the driveway.

Alex got Riley's leash and clipped him to it.

"Ready to go, boy?" he asked.

Riley barked in answer.

"Hey, Alex, Riley," Tom greeted the two.

Riley ran over to Tom and the spiky haired boy bent down to give the dog a belly rub, "you know it's a good thing you found this dog, Alex. He's a girl magnet." He said.

Which was true, girls fawned over him when he went for a walk with Riley, bending down saying, "Aw, can we pet him?" as they went. Alex got more girl's numbers than he had when he didn't have Riley. Tom himself, volunteered to take the dog for a walk anytime the opportunity arrived.

"Yeah, well Riley's always glad to help. Come on let's go," Alex said, going over to the door, tugging on Riley's leash.

Tom eagerly jumped up and followed his friend out of the house.

Riley wasn't quite leash broke so he tugged on the leash pulling Alex along with him. And with him being as big as he was Alex was still having a hard time keeping a hold of the leash.

"Riley, slow down!" Alex gritted out.

"Dog's taking you for a ride, Lex!" Tom said laughing.

"Shut up, Tom," Alex said back.

As they reached the park Alex knew he was in trouble, the park was completely muddy from the rain a few nights ago.

Alex sighed in relief as Riley stopped to relieve himself.

"Think we should just head back? I didn't realize the park was still so muddy," Tom said surveying the muddy grass around them.

"Yeah, I suppose. If I come back with Riley all muddy, I'll have to give him another bath," Alex said. Bathing Riley was one of the things Alex didn't look forward to with his new dog. It was a hassle and it ended with him getting soaked himself.

"Hey we could take Riley home and go the the cinema's," Tom suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds goo-" But that was all that Alex got out of his mouth, before he felt Riley's leash get tighter and pulled him to the ground....and right into a huge mud puddle.

Tom erupted into a fit of laughter, as Riley danced around his owner, his tail wagging frantically.

"Shut _up_, Tom," Alex mumbled, wiping mud off of his mouth.

"Looks like Riley's going to have to give you a bath now," Tom gasped out, "have I told you how much I love this dog?" He said, ruffling the dog's ears.

Alex stood up, and looked himself over, his clothes were ruined. Riley paraded right up to him and stood up on his hind legs, so that he was nearly eye level with Alex, "Yes, you did this I hope you feel very proud of yourself, Riley." he said though a smile had crept up into his face.

And just Alex's luck a couple of girls that went to Brookland went walking by the park and spotted him. They began laughing themselves as they saw Alex covered in mud, nearly eye level with a big lanky dog.

"Oh that's just great," Alex groaned.

This only encouraged Tom to laugh harder, and mumble, "MI6's top spy my ass."

Alex, fed up with his friends laughing, bent down and picked up a huge glob of mud and chucked it at his friends face. Direct hit.

"Hey!" Tom said, bending down and picking up his own mud to retaliate.

Which turned into an all out war against the two boys, while Riley danced and barked happily to the rowdy boys.

This scene played itself out for a long while, until Both boys were wet, cold, and out of breath.

"Come on, you can shower at my house. Jack should still be out with Shannon, so we shouldn't get caught," Alex said, helping his mud- soaked friend off the ground.

"Thanks, my mom would kill me if I tracked mud in on her expensive carpet," Tom said as they walked back to Alex's house, Riley still pulling on his lease despite the previous exercise he had received.

Alex entered the house silently and called out tentatively, "Jack?" No response.

"Okay, she's not home," He said, motioning for Tom to follow him into the kitchen.

Riley went in first and Alex and Tom stopped in their tracks as they entered the kitchen themselves.

Jack and her friend Shannon were sitting at the table, looking at pictures on Jack's laptop.

Jack looked in dismay at the two boys, while Shannon was doing her best not to laugh. She had met Alex and Tom quite a few times before. And she also knew how much Jack liked to keep her house clean.

"What happened?" Jack demanded.

"Uh, I fell?" Alex supplied, which really wasn't a lie.

"And I tried to help him but it obviously didn't work out," Tom lied.

"Yeah, I bet. Now, go clean up, and clean up whatever you get dirty on the way," Jack ordered, before sitting back down in a huff, but trying to hide her smile at the way Alex looked covered from head to toe with mud.

"You got it," Alex replied as he and Tom sludged their way to each one of the two bathroom's that were upstairs, with Riley right behind them.

"He sure seems more relaxed from the last time I saw him," Shannon commented as they left the kitchen.

Jack nodded as she realized that she was right, she had saw Alex a few days before he had met Riley, when he was so depressed he refused to eat.

Yep, Riley was perhaps one of the best things to happen to Alex in a long time.

**A/N- This is just a preview of what's to come. The crazy moments have just begun with Riley and Alex. Good, funny, and tear- jerkers.**

** And idea's are welcome! If anyone has a real life experience they want to see happen with Riley and Alex or just and idea in general they want to see happen I'd be happy to make it a chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Alex, you're going to be late for school! Come on I'll drive you," Jack yelled from the bottom of the stairs just as Alex and Riley came running down them.

"Okay, thanks," He said as he and Jack walked out of the door.

But at the same time Riley managed to wedge his way through the door also.

"Riley," Alex scolded.

"He's okay. We can let him go along for the ride," Jack said opening the car door to let them in.

Alex nodded and hopped in after the dog.

Soon they arrived at Alex's school and he hopped out and promptly shut the door in Riley's face as he tried to follow the teen.

"Sorry, boy," Alex said through the cracked window as he moved away to join Tom as he spotted him waiting on him.

* * *

Jack took Riley to the park to play before heading back to the Rider- Starbright household.

"Alright Riley, we're home," She said as she opened the door to let Riley out of the car.

She then led him into the house and out into the backyard to play some more, while she straightened up the house.

The first time she checked on Riley he was playing with Alex's football, the next time she peered out of the window the dog was nowhere to be found.

"Oh crap," She groaned before running out of the house.

* * *

Alex, Tom and their friend James sat down at one of the outside tables for lunch.

"A couple guys are gonna go play football in the park later, you guys are coming, right?" James asked while he ate.

"Sure," Alex replied.

"I don't know if I can make it," Tom said undecidedly.

"Oh, come on! I hear Laura's going to be there to watch," James said teasingly to Tom., knowing he was crushing on the girl.

Tom blushed a little but replied, "I'll be there." Which got a laugh out of the other two boys.

Suddenly Alex heard a commotion from ahead of them. He looked and was genuinely surprised by the sight.

Riley was headed full force right at him, weaving in and out of dismayed kids who were wondering where the dog came from.

"Riley, stop!" Was the only thing he was able to get out of his mouth before Riley tackled him out of his chair and onto the ground.

"Riley, what in the world?" Alex struggled to get out through each sloppy lick.

"How did he get here?" Tom said laughing.

"I don't know but would someone like to explain it to me?" Mr. Reynolds, the headmaster, said as he approached the scene.

Alex firmly pushed Riley off of him and stood up, "Mr. Reynolds It's not-"

"Yeah, I bet. Mr. Rider your school attendance had deteriorated as is your grades. And I can understand that given your....recent illnesses. But one thing I will not tolerate is misconduct in my school. Now please follow me, and bring you dog with you," Mr. Reynolds interrupted.

Alex sighed, grabbed Riley by the collar and followed the man to his office, glaring at James and Tom as he went as he noticed that they were trying to cover up there laughs.

Alex sighed as he looked at the note he was supposed to give Jack that explained to her why he was getting out of school early to take his dog home since she was not answering the house phone, and to also explain why he had detention for the next two days.

"Riley, what am I gonna do with you?" Alex asked with a smile.

Deep down he was kinda touched that his dog would run all the way from their house to Brookland just to see him. It made him feel like he was wanted, needed. And not just being used like MI6.

As he approached the house he could see Jack....standing in the middle of the yard yelling Riley's name, crying her eyes out.

Alex let go of Riley and let him run to her, wondering just what she was thinking.

When Jack saw Riley running for her she literally started jumping up and down in delight.

Alex smiled at her antics.

"Jack, are you okay? Why are you crying?" he asked as he got closer to her.

"What are you doing out of school?" Jack shrieked as she led Riley into the house.

"Riley decided to pay me a visit at school, and you weren't answering the home phone so I had to take him home. And I come home and find my guardian yelling her head off in the middle of the front yard. Jack, you realize we have neighbors, right?" Alex asked with a smile.

"He went to your _school_? He's really getting attached to you Al'," Jack said as she flopped down onto the couch, as Alex joined her.

"And that's not all. Mr. Reynolds thought I was trying to pull some kind of prank so he gave me two days of detention," Alex said handing her the note.

"What? This is not your fault! I'm calling that school," Jack said as she stormed into the kitchen to grab the phone.

Alex knew better than to try to stop her so he let it go. Besides it's not like he really wanted to spend his next two afternoons in detention, so if Jack could help him out of it he was all for it.

Riley gently nudged his head on Alex's knee then laying on his back for a belly rub.

"What? You got me in trouble, do you really think that you deserve a belly rub?" Alex said with a smile, but leaning forward and rubbing the dogs underside.

Soon he heard Jack's raised voices as she fought with his headstrong headmaster.

Well he knew one thing, Alex was never going to be bored with Riley around.

Alex smiled slightly, but that smile faltered as he heard a loud _riiip_. He looked down and saw Riley, chewing his detention form that he was supposed to get Jack to sign for Mr. Reynolds.

"Riley!"

**A/N- Haha, this is dedicated to Crown-Daydreamer this was her idea. Hope you liked it!**

** Again, idea's are welcomed! I'm really having a fun time writing these!**


	4. Chapter 4

Tom and Alex were on there way to a Chelsea football match, with Riley prancing happily beside them. They waved by to Jack who had just dropped them off.

"I'll watch the game on the Television," She promised, she hated being in large crowds at events like this so she stayed at home.

They found seats near the edge of the aisle so Riley wouldn't get in the way.

"I'm telling you Alex, there's no way that Chelsea is going to win this game. Manchester is just too good this season," Tom said over the cheer of the crowd as the game began.

"Tom, I don't believe you. You're a Chelsea fan, why would you put them down like that?" Alex asked, realizing that he had been defending their favorite team all day.

"I'm just stating fact, and being logical," Tom replied.

And that was the end of their conversation as they both became engrossed in the game.

Soon the game was tied and in the last quarter of the game. Alex reached absently down to pet Riley on the head and.....felt nothing.

Alex looked frantically down before standing promptly up.

"What's wrong with you?" Tom asked.

"Riley's gone," Alex said scanning the stands with a trained eye for his mischievous dog.

"Oh, great. You know that dog is starting to get into more trouble than you," Tom said before thinking thoughtfully, "On second thought, no, that's not possible."

"Just....shut up and look for the dog," Alex replied.

"Alright, we'll split up. You go right, I'll go left," Tom said, taking off into a slow jog, weaving in and out of crowds of people.

Alex sighed and did the same, disregarding the game entirely.

The teen was nearly all the way done with his end of the search before he heard a commotion out on the field behind him.

He silently held his breath as he turned around slowly, bracing himself for what was coming.

His thoughts were confirmed as he saw his dog, running around on the field, with the football in his mouth, joyfully wagging his tail as he jumped out of the players reach as they tried to catch the rogue dog.

"Riley," Alex whispered as he took off to the field.

* * *

Jack was curled up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn as she watch the game. She had her laptop beside her as she instant messaged her friend Shannon as she watched the game.

She had just finished typing a message when she looked up to the TV and was shocked by sight.

Alex Rider and Tom Harris were running around on the field trying to catch Riley, as he jumped around, dodging everyone who tried to catch him.

"Oh, no," Jack said, though she was barely able to contain her laughter as she saw Alex, the teen spy, slip and fall as he tried to get latch onto some part of the big dog. Jack hit the Tivo button quickly certain she would have fun watching this with Alex again later.

She heard the _beep_ of her Instant Message alert and she tore her eyes off the TV and looked to her computer.

"_**OMG, me and Jonathon are watching the Chelsea game,is that Alex and his dog? LMFAO,"**_The message read, which made Jack's laughter explode as she thought of Shannon and her husband just as shocked by this as she was. This was something that was undoubtedly going to make the paper and have Alex more than a little embarrassed.

Soon Alex and Tom were back at Alex's house with Riley.

"Riley is definitely a Rider dog. Even at a football match the dog managed to get into trouble," Tom said as they followed Riley up the stairs and into the house.

"Shut up, Tom," Alex said with a smile as they entered the house.

"Hey, boys. I guess you had an exciting time," Jack said laughing.

"No, my dog is a troublemaker!" Alex replied.

Riley promptly stood up on his hind legs and propped his front ones onto Alex's shoulders and licked him in the mouth.

"Riley!" Alex cried, pushing him back down, but once again Alex could only smile at the dog's antics.

"Well what can you expect, Alex? I mean look at his owner," Tom said cheekily.

But before Alex could reply Jack hedged in, "I bet you two are hungry after your little ordeal, why don't I make you both a grilled cheese?"

"Sounds good," Alex said, purposely tripping Tom as the spiky- haired teen tried to shove his way in front of him.

And then the blonde haired teen was promptly tripped by Riley, who was right under his feet.

Which sent Tom and Jack into a fit of laughter yet again.

**A/N- As you might've noticed I got the idea from the book/ movie, Marley and Me. (the best book in the world if you haven't read it yet I suggest you do it immediately)**

**And I have no idea if you can bring dogs into a Football match in London...We're going to pretend for this chapter that for some reason it was allowed this one time. (Bring you're dog to a football match day, if you will)**

**And I have no idea how Chelsea and Manchester is doing this season in Football, with me being American. I hope no one was offended or anything I think I kept it as biased as possible lol**

**Disclaimer- I do not own the idea of the scene from Marley and Me. All rights go to John Grogan the wonderful author and owner of Marley.**


	5. Chapter 5

Alex was back, once again, from another mission. This time it was more severe than the rest. He wasn't eating and barely talking to anyone.

Jack was worried, Tom was angry that his best friend was being put through this again and Riley was working himself into a frenzy at the lack of attention he was getting from Alex.

"Alex, I'm going to the store will you be okay here?" Jack asked as she walked into the sitting room to see Alex perched on the window seal staring blankly into the setting sun.

Alex didn't even glance at her as he nodded.

"I know it's late, but I have this huge craving for ice cream and Riley needs dog food..." Jack trailed off awkwardly.

"Jack, I'll be fine. Go ahead," Alex finally said in a quiet, tired voice. He had bags under his eyes which told Jack that once again he was not sleeping well.

Riley then came slinking into the room and plopped obediently down at Alex's feet, resting his head on the boy's socked feet. Alex didn't even acknowledge the dog's presence.

Jack sighed and nodded as she walked out, leaving the boy and his dog alone.

* * *

Alex couldn't seem to bring himself out of the slump he was in. He could only play pieces of his violent mission over and over again in this head. When he slept it was ten times worse, like he was back at the compound watching all of those innocent people die slow and painfully all over again. He'd wake up to Riley licking his face, whining softly as he pleaded to people in his dreams.

He gazed down to the dog at his feet, the poor dog looked just as upset as he was. Alex almost felt guilty as he saw the dog laying bored at his feet, wishing that his owner would play with him.

Alex jumped as he heard the front door snap open and loud foot steps barreling down the hallway.

He shot to his feet and was surprised to see and hear Riley standing beside him, his fur ruffled up. His teeth were barred and a low growl was emanating from him. He didn't have time to ponder this because a man Alex was hoping to never see again appeared in the sitting room doorway.

"Rider," Randy seethed as he made his way over to the boy.

Riley's growl turned into a loud bark as he stepped between of his owner and the intruder.

"You've had it, Rider. You killed my father and ruined his plans," Randy said, stopping as he saw the dog.

"I didn't kill your dad, your dad was killing millions. He had to be stopped. Your dad was killed by a MI6 agent, not me," Alex said calmly.

"I don't believe you," Randy said immediately, not even trying to take into consideration for what Alex had just told him.

Alex knew there was no reasoning with the guy so he fell into a fighting stance just as Randy threw his first punch, landing it into Alex's soft stomach.

The boy doubled over and heard a yelp as Randy kicked Riley out of the way, this made Alex see red.

"Leave my dog alone!" Alex said in a coarse yell, his voice rough from the punch. He knew he was too over powered to even begin to try to fight back, he had seen Randy fight and he knew he didn't stand a chance.

Randy only shook his head as he began to lay punch after punch into Alex. Soon Alex was lying on his side curled into a fetal position as he silently wished Randy would stop.

Finally he felt the punches stop and heard a yell come from Randy. Alex glanced painfully up through his swollen eyes to see Riley and Randy in a tango, the dog's teeth were sunk into the man's left forearm as he tried to shake the dog off but that was only making the dog's bite sink further into the skin.

Suddenly Alex heard loud tires screeching to a halt outside. Alex gingerly stood up, trying to will himself to help his brave dog.

But just as he started his move toward Randy and Riley more people came barreling into his house, this time the men were carrying guns, all of them trained on Randy.

Riley noticed this and immediately let go and ran back over to Alex. He began to growl intimidatingly at the men.

"Alex?" One of them asked.

"Who are you?" Alex questioned back.

"We're MI6 agents, we're here to help you. You can call me Sam. Could you, uh, call your dog off though? We need to get you checked over, you really took a beating," Sam said, looking concerned.

Alex looked over to see Randy in cuffs being hauled out of his house by two MI6 agents. Alex nodded to Sam and patted Riley on the head, letting him know that everything was over.

"It's okay, boy. You did really good," he whispered into Riley's ear. The dog in turn licked the boy's face and tried to jump up to see him. But Riley let out a sharp yelp at the movement.

Alex immediately bent down as quick as his beaten body would allow, "What's wrong?"

"Looks like you dog's got a cracked rib or two. He needs a vet and you need a hospital. Come on we'll take each of you to both," Sam said, urging the boy to get up.

Alex nodded and stood, grabbing Riley's leash and clipping it to him and moving at a slow pace both boy and dog made their way to one of MI6's black cars.

* * *

Jack had a new found respect for Riley and Alex's relationship. She never knew that Riley could be vicious but by Alex's story she realized that Riley would be more than glad to defend his teenage owner.

Alex had saved Riley from a cruel and lonely life on the streets and Riley had saved Alex a lot of pain.

Alex told Jack the story of Riley helping him with such pride that she could hardly see how this was the same kid, that just a few days ago, wouldn't even play with his dog.

Alex had obviously learned his lesson; no more of ignoring his dog, no matter how down in the dumps he felt.

She peered into the sitting room to see Alex and Riley laying on the couch. Riley was sporting a bandage around his chest and Alex was now wearing an assortment of stitches, bandages and bruises.

But they both looked content as the slept beside each other, Riley's head on Alex's stomach and the boy's hand laying lightly on top of the dog's head.

All was calm once again.

**A/N- Kinda cheesy I know.**

** And I didn't really go into detail about Alex's mission or who exactly Randy was because that wasn't really the point of the chapter....Just that Alex was really depressed by it.**

** And again any ideas would more than likely be used**

** Thanks to Cheer2 for this idea....though I did kinda tweek it a bit hope you don't mind!**

** Review's rock!**


	6. Chapter 6

"Explain to me again why we're doing this?" Alex asked his guardian for the tenth time.

They had been lugging huge boxes down from the attic to sort through and to make more room all day.

"It's called spring cleaning, Alex," Jack answered as she bounded into the living room carrying a box.

"Cleaning, huh? Could've fooled me." He replied, looking at their destroyed sitting room.

Jack glared half-heartily at the boy who smiled cheekily back at her before turning back to his box.

"Hey, what's this a video of?" He asked, holding it up for her to see.

Jack looked over at the tape in confusion before her face lit up excitedly.

"Aw! This is a video I recorded of you and Ian playing around one day. You two were just too cute not to record," Jack replied.

"Cute?" Alex asked as Jack took the tape from him and popped it into the VCR, stepping over Riley who was sleeping lazily on the floor.

The dog was laying on his back his paws in the air as he snored lightly.

Alex reached for the remote and pressed play, not noticing as Jack slipped out of the room. She figured that this was something that Alex would want to reminisce on his own.

Alex immediately smiled as he heard Ian's voice coming through the Televisions speakers.

_"Come on, old man!" Came Alex's ten year old voice as he and his uncle sparred lightly in the living room._

_ "Old man? Kid, you're in for it now,"Ian replied, grabbing Alex around the waist, pulling him to the ground and tickling him, all the karate moves and techniques gone._

_ "Ian, stop!" Alex gasped through fits of laughter._

_ "Say uncle," Ian ordered, not stopping in his tickling as he said so._

_ "No!" Alex replied stubbornly._

_ "Well that's the only way it's going to stop," Ian stated, his tickles getting faster as he ran his fingers over the boy's sides, making him squeal._

_ Soon Alex gave up and called out a breathless, "Uncle!"_

_ Ian stood up and put a fist in the air, "I win!"_

_ "No, you cheated," Alex accused, his face red from his laughter._

_ "Alex, there are no rules in real life," Ian pointed out wisely._

_ "I honestly don't see me getting mugged by someone who uses tickling as a weapon."_

_ "You're really missing the point here, Alex."_

_ Alex sighed, "yeah, yeah, yeah I got it. Expect the unexpected. You sound like a quote straight out of the Karate Kid."_

_ "You will learn young grasshopper," Ian said in a flawless Chinese accent._

_ "You're weird," Alex said simply._

_ "And you're ticklish," Ian replied and just like that the tickling resumed._

_ Alex's squeals of laughter rang out through the Television again and soon Alex's young voice gasped out, "Uncle! Uncle!"_

_ "Say it in German," Ian challenged._

_ "I've only...started learning German...a few months ago," Alex said through his laughing._

_ "Then you better think hard," Ian said with a laugh._

_ "Onkel!" Alex yelled._

_ "There you go," Ian said proudly, pulling the boy off the floor of the sitting room, "How about some food?"_

_ "And water," Alex panted._

Alex sighed as the video ended abruptly. He really did miss Ian Rider, no matter how much he tried to deny it. Every time he walked passed the man's old room he would remember running in there on Christmas mornings pouncing on the man to wake up so he could open presents. He missed finding Ian at the table in the morning's after he had been gone for weeks. Missed playing football with the man. And just hanging out with the man in general. Him and Ian were close, he missed the man's comforting presence when he was hurt or sick. Jack was nice, but it wasn't the same.

He was jerked out of his thoughts by Riley's sad whining as the dog put his head on Alex's knee.

"What is it, boy?" He asked.

Riley whined again before looking at the Television screen, which was paused on Ian's smiling face.

"What wrong?" He asked again, pinching his face in confusion. Riley didn't know Ian, why was he so worked up by the video? Riley nudged his hand with his snout, whining more.

"He's sensing your mood, Alex. And he knows its got something to do with Ian. Labs have a way of sensing their owners moods. He knows you're upset," Jack said as she entered the room.

She had a milk bone in her hand which she gave to Riley, who took it, quickly munching it down, before turning back to Alex.

"I'm okay, Riley," he said to the worried dog, rubbing his head comfortingly.

"I think Ian would've liked Riley," Jack said to Alex, also sensing that the boy was slightly depressed by the video.

"Yeah, hey Jack do you have anymore videos like this?" Alex asked, suddenly having an urge to reminisce more about his uncle.

"I think I've got a few more, yes. But if you think you're getting out of helping me go through all of this stuff you're out of your mind," Jack replied, playfully pushing the boy.

"Of course not, Jack," Alex said, genuinely smiling at his guardian as she picked up a box and dropped it onto his lap for him to sort through.

**A/N- This idea is courtesy of EwanLuvr4Ever! That and I really like Ian so her suggestion was a very appealing topic for me lol.**

** Hope you guys like it! Review! Give me ideas you might wanna see!**


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